06/01/2015

Antique Cameos Make Great Mother's Day Gift - Maybe

Antique cameos make the perfect gift for mom this Mother's Day because the classic design will rekindle fond memories. No matter what type of jewelry she loves most, you can be sure of finding a cameo because they have been adapted to just about everything, including:

Cameo Bracelets

Cameo Pendants

Cameo Earrings

Cameo Necklaces

Cameo Rings

And Even Cameo Watches!

If selected properly, a vintage cameo can actually appreciate in value unlike most of the jewelry sold today. While spotting the cameo design is simple enough thanks to the classic portrait which adorns each piece, assessing value is another problem entirely. Value is in large part determined by the materials used to create the portrait. To find a vintage cameo that will likely appreciate in value, it helps to first learn which materials they can be made out of, which includes:

Ivory

Bone

Shells

Coral

Wood

Agate

Abalone

Glass

Plastic

Hardened Stone

In general, molded versions of the infamous cameo portrait will be made out of manmade materials like glass and plastic. While some classic pieces made prior to the 1960's are indeed molded and still appreciating in value (like the Bake lite cameos), these are definitely the exceptions. Trademark features of molded cameos include: Lightweight; Few Sharp Lines; Details are Rounded; Mold marks on back of pieces.

Once you know what to avoid, you can focus your efforts on identifying the carved cameos-but that will take some research and a good eye!

Without question, the carved cameos are more valuable but those crafted out of hard stone tend to command the highest prices in the collecting world. The best and simplest way to identify an authentic stone cameo is to pay close attention to the space between the back of the portrait and the flat plaque.

Unlike the glass imitators, the stone pieces will be undercarved at the point where the plaque and portrait meet. High in value but low in quantity, collectors really need to search high and low to find undervalued stone pieces in today's hot market.

Although the design can be traced back to the times of antiquity over 20 centuries ago, the cameo remains a popular design especially with the baby boomer generation. So if you are looking for a great mother's day gift that mom will cherish forever, look no farther than antique carved cameos: They will appreciate in value and will no doubt rekindle fond memories from days past.